After flattering and funding FIFA, Saudi Arabia will today be confirmed as hosts of the 2034 World Cup by acclamation of football nations rather than a vote.
Image: Clockwise from top left: The designs for Roshn, Neom, South Riyadh and Prince Mohammed bin Salman stadiums. Pics: Saudi 2034
It is the rapid conclusion to a 14-month process engineered to secure their victory but a strategic success for the kingdom in avoiding a protracted contest.
And scrutiny of the fast-tracked process – ending at a virtual FIFA Congress – has diminished the spotlight on discriminatory laws, human rights violations and working conditions as 15 stadiums are built for its biggest sporting spectacle.
But FIFA endorses the Saudi view that a World Cup can be a catalyst for change by introducing labour reforms and providing more rights for women.
Bid leader Hammad Albalawi insists: “We are a young nation seizing this opportunity.”
An opportunity that has been facilitated by Gianni Infantino; the Saudis knowing the touch-points to pander to the globe-trotting FIFA president who collects photos for Instagram alongside the powerful and wealthy.
No country – where FIFA does not have offices – has been visited more by him in recent years.
By contrast, he never seemed to visit Australia before it hosted the Women’s World Cup in 2023 to check on preparations.
Image: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and FIFA President Gianni Infantino pictured at the 2018 World Cup. Pic: Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
Even in the midst of Switzerland’s pandemic restrictions, when non-essential travel was advised against from FIFA’s base, Mr Infantino went to Saudi in early 2021 to be filmed talking up the oil-rich country in a government PR video, in a ceremonial sword dance around palaces of Diriyah.
It was clear where his priorities were as the Saudis proved savvy at winning over the governing body holding the keys to the World Cup hosting.
Mr Infantino skipped FIFA’s own large video gaming tournament in Liverpool this August to launch Saudi’s Esports World Cup in Riyadh alongside Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
That was before FIFA officially launched the 2034 bidding process.
And Mr Infantino has not held a single open news conference in the year since being accused of rigging the bidding process to help the Saudis – denying journalists the chance to put the claims to him directly.
On the face of it, Mr Infantino can claim to have introduced a more open and transparent bidding process than his predecessors oversaw with published inspection reports and scoring.
There was also the ability for any country to enter – as long as you were from the Asia or Oceania regions.
And only if you could decide in less than four weeks whether your country could handle and fund a 48-team tournament with 104 matches – beyond nations with an electorate to consider and budgets to balance.
It was all assisted by a behind-the-scenes secret deal that knocked Europe, Africa and South America out of contention – combining their six countries bidding for the 2030 World Cup into a single, unprecedented mammoth tournament plan.
Those regions then became ineligible to try to host the 2034 tournament.
So all paths – like so many in sport – now lead to Riyadh in 2034.
For Mark Pieth, who advised Sepp Blatter’s FIFA on anti-corruption and governance changes, it is all a “turn for the worse”.
The Swiss law professor told Sky News: “We tried to reform FIFA. What we’re now seeing is quite abominable.
“You have FIFA trying to break all the rules that they’ve given themselves, starting with deciding on two World Cups at the same time, no competition, manipulated reports and finally acclamation instead of a vote.”
The rigging claim would be disputed by FIFA, which yesterday said auditors BDO “concluded that both evaluation processes were executed with objectivity, integrity and transparency”.
Image: Newcastle United fans celebrate the Saudi takeover in 2021. Pic: AP
There has been little dissent across world football – even from countries like Germany that took a vocal stand against Qatar while insisting they would not “gloss over” Saudi issues.
The English Football Association has been deliberating over whether to provide a public position on Saudi – a delicate balancing act while considering a future Women’s World Cup bid and needing FIFA on side.
And the FA speaking out on Saudi – if not the FIFA process – would put it at odds with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer who was in Riyadh this week for talks with the crown prince.
But one country that has led the charge against FIFA is Norway.
Their football association head, Lise Klaveness, first broke ranks to tell Sky News: “When decisions are made in closed rooms, it’s the opposite of what the reforms were promising us.”
And on Tuesday she confirmed Norway would attempt to abstain – although FIFA is set to avoid a vote.
She said: “The lack of predictability and open processes challenges trust in FIFA as the global custodian of football.”
Image: The King Abdullah sports city stadium, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Pic: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar
Infantino’s rise and Saudi endorsement
It was Mr Infantino who was swept to power after the discredited Blatter reign ended in a wave of convictions of football officials after raids in 2015.
And the former general secretary at European governing body UEFA even sat on the reform committee that attempted to curb the powers of FIFA presidents before he ascended to that position himself and adjusted term limits to remain in post longer.
Miguel Maduro, who was forced out as governance chief by Mr Infantino, told Sky News: “They promised a much higher degree of transparency on how the bidding was going to take place. We saw nothing of that type in this process.
“Basically, it is something that was cooked internally, within what I usually call the political cartel that dominates FIFA.”
The pick cannot be reversed.
But there can be moves to protect the conditions of the migrant workforce – already said by Human Rights Watch to exceed 13 million in Saudi – as 15 stadiums and a vast wider infrastructure is built up.
Despite none of the stadiums being complete yet, FIFA still gave the Saudis the highest scoring since the inspection process was introduced for World Cup bidding by Mr Infantino.
FIFA’s inspection report did express concerns about “indecent working conditions” and found gaps complying with “international standards” that “contradict Islamic law”.
There are assurances fans will face no discrimination but anti-LGBTQ+ laws remain – a red line the conservative nation cannot cross and unmentioned in the mandatory human rights risk assessment.
Image: Tyson Fury fights Oleksandr Usyk at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in May. P:ic: AP Photo/Francisco Seco
Saudi Arabia’s growing influence on sport
Football is far from the first sport to be seduced by the Saudi riches – helping them cleanse the country’s image and distract from rights issues.
Boxing’s biggest bouts are now there, there has been an attempted takeover of golf by launching the rebel LIV series and a $1m golden ball was added to allow the kingdom to put its lavish imprint on snooker.
Much is bankrolled by the $900bn Public Investment Fund which has owned Newcastle United for three years.
And the sovereign wealth fund has a stake in state oil firm Aramco which became a FIFA sponsor in April.
Streaming platform DAZN, which has close ties to Saudi, seems to have bailed out FIFA’s new 32-team Club World Cup with a reported $1bn global broadcasting deal announced last week without a clear ability to recoup the cash as games air free.
No wonder dissent has been brushed aside by FIFA – even from the US where the Club World Cup will be staged next year followed by the main men’s World Cup in 2026.
Democrat senators Ron Wyden and Dick Durbin wrote to Mr Infantino in October: “The kingdom continues to torture dissidents, engage in extrajudicial killings, discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community, oppress women and religious minorities, exploit and abuse foreign workers, and restrict almost all political rights and civil liberties.”
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Khashoggi’s widow on World Cup
Image: Argentina’s Lionel Messi lifts the World Cup in Qatar. Pic: AP
How will the 2034 World Cup work for football?
For many in football – particularly domestic leagues – the bigger concern will be the impact on the calendar.
There are no commitments to stage the tournament in the typical June-July slot, with January-February 2034 looking more likely to avoid clashing with Ramadan and the Hajj.
Qatar 2022’s November-December slot showed how football can accommodate a switch without long-term damage to the club game.
But the message from within Saudi is they are a very different proposition to the first Middle East hosts – even if this World Cup pick is as controversial.
Where Qatar still lacks a vibrant local football culture, Saudi is home to Asia’s most successful team – Al Hilal.
Esteve Calzada, the CEO of Al Hilal, told Sky News the example of Qatar strengthened the Saudi bid: “Even with so much criticism, I think there is a general consensus it was ultimately a very successful World Cup.
“In our case, I’m sure it will be the same. It’s a proper-sized country with passionate fans.”
Now there is a decade to convince the world’s football fans to descend on Saudi Arabia.
FIFA has delivered the sporting prize the crown prince craved in the easiest of football matches to win – one without any opponent.
Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin and suggested a shift in his stance towards the Russian president after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the Pope’s funeral.
The Ukrainian president said the one-on-one talks could prove to be “historic” after pictures showed him sitting opposite Mr Trump, around two feet apart, in the large marble hall inside St Peter’s Basilica.
The US president said he doubted his Russian counterpart’s willingness to end the war after leaving Rome after the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said “there was no reason” for the Russian president “to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days”.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
He added: “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
The meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was their first face-to-face encounter since a very public row in the Oval Office in February.
Mr Zelenskyy said he had a good meeting with Mr Trump in which they talked about the defence of the Ukrainian people, a full and unconditional ceasefire, and a durable and lasting peace that would prevent the war restarting.
Other images released by the Ukrainian president’s office show Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron were present for part of the talks, which were described as “positive” by the French presidency.
Mr Zelenskyy‘s spokesman said the meeting lasted for around 15 minutes and he and Mr Trump had agreed to hold further discussions later on Saturday.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Image: Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Basilica
But the US president left Rome for Washington on Air Force One soon after the funeral without any other talks having taken place.
The Ukrainian president’s office said there was no second meeting in Rome because of the tight schedule of both leaders, although he had separate discussions with Mr Starmer and Mr Macron.
The French president said in a post on X “Ukraine is ready for an unconditional ceasefire” and that a so-called coalition of the willing, led by the UK and France, would continue working to achieve a lasting peace.
There was applause from some of the other world leaders in attendance at the Vatican when Mr Zelenskyy walked out of St Peter’s Basilica after stopping in front of the pontiff’s coffin to pay his respects.
Image: Donald Trump and the Ukrainian president met for the first time since their Oval Office row. Pic: Reuters
Sir Tony Brenton, the former British ambassador to Russia, said the event presents diplomatic opportunities, including the “biggest possible meeting” between Mr Trump and the Ukrainian leader.
He told Sky News it could mark “an important step” in starting the peace process between Russia and Ukraine.
Professor Father Francesco Giordano told Sky News the meeting is being called “Pope Francis’s miracle” by members of the clergy, adding: “There’s so many things that happened today – it was just overwhelming.”
The bilateral meeting comes after Mr Trump’s peace negotiator Steve Witkoff held talks with Mr Putin at the Kremlin.
They discussed “the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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On an extraordinary day, remarkable pictures on the margins that capture what may be a turning point for the world.
In a corner of St Peter’s Basilica before the funeral of Pope Francis, the leaders of America and Ukraine sit facing each other in two solitary chairs.
They look like confessor and sinner except we cannot tell which one is which.
In another, the Ukrainian president seems to be remonstrating with the US president. This is their first encounter since their infamous bust-up in the Oval Office.
Image: The two leaders held talks before attending the Pope’s funeral
Other pictures show the moment their French and British counterparts introduced the two men. There is a palpable sense of nervousness in the way the leaders engage.
We do not know what the two presidents said in their brief meeting.
But in the mind of the Ukrainian leader will be the knowledge President Trump has this week said America will reward Russia for its unprovoked brutal invasion of his country, under any peace deal.
Mr Trump has presented Ukraine and Russia with a proposal and ultimatum so one-sided it could have been written in the Kremlin.
Kyiv must surrender the land Russia has taken by force, Crimea forever, the rest at least for now. And it must submit to an act of extortion, a proposed deal that would hand over half its mineral wealth effectively to America.
Image: The world leaders shared a moment before the service
Afterwards, Zelenskyy said it had been a good meeting that could turn out to be historic “if we reach results together”.
They had talked, he said, about the defence of Ukraine, a full and unconditional ceasefire and a durable and lasting peace that will prevent a war restarting.
The Trump peace proposal includes only unspecified security guarantees for Ukraine from countries that do not include the US. It rules out any membership of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s allies are watching closely to see if Mr Trump will apply any pressure on Vladimir Putin, let alone punish him for recent bloody attacks on Ukraine.
Or will he simply walk away if the proposal fails, blaming Ukrainian intransigence, however outrageously, before moving onto a rapprochement with Moscow.
If he does, America’s role as guarantor of international security will be seen effectively as over.
This could be the week we see the world order as we have known it since the end of the Second World War buried, as well as a pope.